1. Field of The Invention
The invention relates to the field of education.
Particularly, the invention provides the methodology for teaching students to mathematically manipulate the numbers 6 through 9, inclusive.
More particularly, the methodology of the invention lends itself to teaching multiplication and division when the multipliers, divisors and quotients lie in the range of number values 6 through 9 inclusive.
2. Prior Art
The prior art is replete with devices for teaching the times-table, division and like mathmatical operations. No prior art in the methodology of teaching is known which invovles conforming the hands into SYMBOLS representative of number values. For purposes of this disclosure, the mere extension of fingers equal in number to the numerical value to be represented is not deemed to be equivalent to conforming the hands into SYMBOLS representative of number values.
It is well known that devices which perform functions which can readily be performed by hand are, in general, not patentable. A review of the literature relating to attempts to patent such devices indicates the "performance by hand" referred to in denying patentability involved the hands in manipulating a device such as a pencil, or a hand tool.
The methodology of the present invention does not involve the use of the hands in a manipulative sense. Rather, the hands are conformed so as to form SYMBOLS representative of numerical values. These symbols provide an educational aid, always readily available to the student, to be utilized by the student in the cognitive process of number multiplication and division.
Methods are known which manipulate the fingers of the hands, much as one manipulates the beads of an abacus, in order to derive arithmetical results. These are basically counting methods involving no hand conforming symbology representative of specific numbers.
In learning the multiplication or times-tables, students seldom experience difficulty in learning to multiply by the numbers 1 through 5.
The ability to multiply by 10 is readily achieved. However, multiplication by the numbers in the range 6 through 9 inclusive often proves a stumbling block for students, especially those with learning disabilities.
The methodology taught herein provides the student with hand conformed symbols representative of the numbers 6 through 9. Observation of these symbols permits the students to use their mastery of multiplication of the numbers 1 through 5 and 10 to solve problems in multiplication and division involving the numbers 6 through 9.
It is an object of the present invention to provide students, as a teaching aid, hand conformed symbols which represent the numbers 6 through 9.
It is a further object of the present invention to teach students to observe such hand conformed symbols and derive the product of two numbers so symbolized.
It is a still further object of the present invention to teach students to solve problems in division when the divisor is in the range of numbers 6 through 9 and the dividend is a number of value greater than the divisor.